Bay of Fundy - Fun Day!

Hi Blog!

We are staying at Cove Beachfront Campground on the shore of the Bay of Fundy. When you hear about the Bay of Fundy's 50-foot tides, its hard not to imagine a 50 foot wall of water. But the tides don't work that way. The advance of the tides happen over a 6-hour period. You may not see the drama of the tides flooding across the tidal flats unless you know where to go and when. There are places where the tides come in as fast as you can walk, others where they flood over reefs and between islands in rips and rapids. In some places, the tides have carved out intricate rock formations that loom above the bare ocean floor when the tide is out. Since we are new to the area, we decided not to leave our adventures to chance. We bought a copy of The Bay of Fundy Coastal Hiking and Tidal Beach Exploration Guide. Of course, there are more hikes than we have time to do, so we picked two that seemed the most interesting.

The two hikes we had planned for Friday, August 17, 2018, depended on the time of the tide. The first hike out into the North Medford Tidal Flats could only be hiked at low tide. We arrived about an hour before low tide and were greeted with views of an immense red sandy beach. Looking down from the cliff, we could see Elephant Rock poking up from the ocean floor.

The hiking guide said to start at the end of North Medford Road and follow the path down to the beach. Upon first glance, we could see no path to the beach. We finally stumbled upon a drainage that led down, but it was so overgrown with flowers, grasses and bushes, we missed the path twice as we walked backed and forth across the top of the cliff.

After a short bushwhack, we found ourselves on the wet sandy beach. As we walked along the base of the cliff, we could see keyhole caves and arches. We decided we needed a closer look.

It's hard to believe that in just a few hours, this whole area will be under 20 feet of water. The sea grass has adapted to spending half its life in the sun and the other half under water!

Notice the change in the color of the sandstone at the high water mark. Kathy stands in the arch for perspective.

The sculpted sandstone formations look more like something you would expect to see in Sedona, Arizona than Medford, Nova Scotia.

We slowly made our way over to Elephant Rock. There was a fine layer of wet sandy mud on top of the hard sandstone which made it quite slippery. Kathy was glad to have her trekking poles. Dave managed to skate his way across without incident. Here we get a good look at the backside of the elephant!

One has to use a little imagination to actually see the elephant. The big bulky part to the left is the body with the trunk being the top of the arch. The sandstone makes a great medium for growing sea lettuce flakes or dulse. While you can eat it directly off the rocks, it can be a bit sandy. Most folks wash and dry it and snack on it like potato chips.

While the elephant was a bit of a stretch, it was very easy to see why folks refer to this outcrop as JAWS!

We didn't linger long for two reasons. One, we didn't want to meet the incoming tide and two we had another hike to complete. While it was just a short one mile adventure, it left a lasting impression!

Our next stop was Cape Split Provincial Park. One of the most powerful tidal rips in the world are created as the tide surges around the rocks at the end of Cape Split. The hiking guide says the views at the end of the Cape are breathtaking, but first you have to get there. The cape is 4 miles long and the hike is through a thick forest canopy. The forest provided great shade, but very little in the way of views. It was like hiking through a green tunnel.

While there wasn't much to see on the hike, it was very social. The Cape Split Hiking Trail is one of the most popular hiking trails on the east side of the Bay of Fundy. When not dodging the mud puddles, we petted the puppies and high fived the kids. We encountered some of the most unusual trees along the trail.

We emerged from the forest onto the grassy head of Cape Split. Before settling in for lunch, we decided to explore all the side trails.

While it looks like you might be a able to scramble down to the beach, it is a 200 foot climb back up.

We could hear the incoming tide roaring over the rock pinnacles below.

Here's another look at the rip. It is hard to capture the force of the water in just a photograph. But even at 200 feet above, we could hear the roar of the rapids. As we sat and ate our lunch, we watched a peregrine falcon harass a seagull and her chick. It was quite an acrobatic display. We are happy to report that Mama seagull prevailed. The falcon moved on to find another lunch spot.

While some of the younger hikers ventured out on the rock ledges for their selfies, we were happy to snap ours from the safety and comfort of the grassy knoll.

The four mile return trip passed quickly. We had another reward waiting for us. While not an amazing rock outcrops or scenic view from a rocky cape, the Blueberry Pail Ale at Sea Level Brewing Co. was definitely worth the stop. Until next time, stay thirsty my friends.